Dripboard and integral facia board and gutter combinations



DRIPBOARD AND INTEGRAL FAGIA BOARD Feb. 11, 1969 3 STANFORD 3,426,488

AND GUTTER COMBINATIONS Filed Nov. 4, 1965 United States Patent 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Facia board provided With an integral gutter and a downwardly and outwardly inclined flange above the gutter detachably caught to a channel in the projecting portion of a dripboard strip.

The present invention relates to drip-edge board and integral facia board and gutter combinations.

While wooden gutters are at the present time commonly used in residential construction, they have a number of well recognized objectionable features. One of these is the necessity of protecting them against the elements at relatively frequent intervals. Another difliculty is that of securely protecting the joints between gutter sections and yet another difiiculty is in ensuring a tight eaves construction wherein water is prevented from working its way upwardly under the roofing from the drip edge.

The present invention has, as its objective, the provision of eaves construction avoiding these and other objectionable features encountered with presently available gutters. In accordance with the invention, this general objective is attained by providing a molded plastic facia board having an outwardly and downwardly disposed flange along its upper edge spaced above an integral gutter projecting outwardly from the central portion thereof, the central portion being the inner gutter wall. The flange and preferably the portion of the facia board adjacent thereto is suificiently thinner than the central portion to have a degree of flexibility. A dripboard strip attachable to the roof structure projects therefrom to define the eaves with the projecting portion having a channel to receive the margin of the flange but leaving the remainder thereof free to flex.

The single figure of the drawing is a fragmentary vertical section through the caves of a building utilizing a dripboard strip and integral gutter-facia board combination in accordance with the invention.

As illustrative of a typical building construction, roof sheathing 5 is supported by rafters, one being shown at 6. Side wall sheathing 7 and a wood facia 8 are nailed to studding '9 and to a double side wall plate '10.

A tapered, drip-edge strip 11 is anchored to the roof sheathing 5 with its thicker or butt end protruding beyond the wood facia 8 and provided with a depending marginal rib 12 at its extremity. The rib 12 has a lengthwise channel 13 opening towards the other end of the drip-edge strip 11, the channel '13 being upwardly and inwardly inclined when the drip-edge strip 11 is anchored in place. A polyethelyne sheet 14 overlies the roof sheathmg 5 and is cemented to the drip-edge strip 11. Shingles 15, of any type, are then laid and conventionally secured to complete the roof.

A facia board is generally indicated at 16 and it includes an integral gutter :17 with its central part constituting the inner Wall thereof. At the upper edge of the facia board 16 there is an outwardly and downwardly inclined flange 1 8 whose free edge is spaced above the gutter 17 and provided with a marginal bead 18A. The channel 13 of the drip-edge strip '11 is dimensioned to receive a 3,426,488 Patented F eb. 11, 1969 portion of the flange 18 and has a pocket 13A to accommodate the bead 18A.

It will be noted that the facia board .16 above and below the gutter 17 is of substantially reduced thickness in zones 19 and 20 to receive fasteners, shown as nails 21. It will be noted that the upper zone 19 is exposed between the lower extremity of the drip-edge strip 11 and the gutter 17 and that the flange 18 is of approximately the samethickness as the zone 19.

In practice, the gutter-facia board is molded from a suitable plastic in lengths that are as long as can be conveniently handled. The plastic must have desirable features ranging from cost to weathering characteristics and polyesters reinforced with fiberglass are satisfactory. The drip-edge strips 11 are similarly molded from the same plastic.

With the drip-edge strip 1 1 installed, a desired length of the gutter-facia board is then slid into place with its flange 18 entrant of the channel '13. The gutter-facia board is then nailed or otherwise fastened in place. Desirably, the channel and flange are cemented together and the abutting ends of gutter-facia board and drip edge strips as well as corner members may be similarly united.

It is important to note that the construction ensures flexibility in the flange and in the zone 19 ensuring that the gutter is properly positioned in spite of minor structural irregularities in the eaves area.

I claim:

1. *In combination, a molded plastic facia board provided at its upper edge with an outwardly and downwardly inclined flange and with an integral gutter projecting outwardly from the central portion thereof, the central portion constituting the inner gutter wall, the free end of the flange being spaced above the gutter, the flange being sufliciently thin, as compared to said inner gutter wall, as to be flexible, and a dripboard strip for attachment to the roof structure with a portion projecting therefrom to define the eaves, the projecting portion of the strip having a rearwardly and upwardly opening channel in its undersurface within which the margin of the flange of the facia board is fitted leaving the remainder of the flange free to flex.

2. The combination of claim 1 in which the portion of the facia board adjacent the flange is also sufficiently thin to be flexible.

3. The combination of claim .1 in which the portions of the facia board above and below the central portion are substantially thinner than the central portion and define upper and lower lengthwise fastening zones, the upper zone being exposed below the outer edge of the dripboard strip.

4. The combination of claim 1 in which the dripboard strip is tapered with its projecting end being the thick end and its channel and the margin of the flange are provided with complemental interengageable portions.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,343,461 '6/ 1920 Marberg 52-11 2,231,008 2/ 1941 Ochs 52-536 2,943,421 7/ 1960 Squires SQ- 1d 3,098,322 7/ 1963 Greene 52-111 3,248,827 5/1966 Hardy 52-11 FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner. PRTCE C. FAW, JR., Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

